Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: June 2015

“Reach the Women”: The US military’s experiment of female soldiers working with Afghan women

Gary Owen •

In 2009, the United States military in Afghanistan started deploying female soldiers to the field so that they could interact with Afghan women during operations and patrols. A picture of life as a member of what were called Female Engagement and Cultural Support Teams has come in a recently published book, Ashley’s War, by Gayle […]

War and Peace Read more

Analysts: Taliban worried Islamic State could become serious political competitor

AAN •

Stars and Stripes, 19 June 2015 In this report about the Taleban warning letter to the Islamic State, AAN’s Borhan Osman is quoted: “It is difficult to imagine enthusiasm for (Islamic State) emerging among common Afghans. However, tribal grievances towards the Taliban in communities which are not under government control could help (Islamic State) recruiters to […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Was Double Government in Afghanistan a Folly?

AAN •

The Diplomat, 19 June 2015 Catherine Putz, Special Projects Editor at The Diplomat, a international current-affairs magazine for the Asia-Pacific region, reviews Noah Arjomand’s AAN report about ‘double government‘ by foreign interveners during the First Anglo-Afghan War and nowadays: So what can be learned? Arjomand is careful not to dismiss the reformist goals of such double governments, but he aims […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Elections in Hibernation: Afghanistan’s stalled electoral reform

Ehsan Qaane • Martine van Bijlert •

Afghanistan’s electoral reform process has been bogged down for months. While the National Unity Government agreement called for the “immediate establishment” of an Electoral Reform Commission, it took the president five months just to sign the necessary decree. Now, three months later, the commission has still not started its work and it looks like the original […]

Political Landscape Read more

Krieg unter Brüdern: Taliban schreiben an IS

AAN •

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 16 June 2015 In an article analysing the Taleban letter to IS (Daesh), the German daily quotes AAN information about Mullah Mansur Dadullah and his possible alignment with the IS: Nach Informationen der Denkfabrik „Afghanistan Analysts Network“ hatte er sich aber später mit den Taliban überworfen. Seinen Namen hatten afghanische Politiker jüngst im […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Time to Negotiate in Afghanistan: How to Talk to the Taliban

Thomas Ruttig •

Foreign Affairs, 16 June 2015 This extensive article reviews the “unexpected strides toward [peace] talks” over the past few months, made by Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban and argues that “the United States must seize the moment, doing what it can to move the peace process forward.” It quotes AAN’s Thomas Ruttig: “If the […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Ikke forvent fred i Afghanistan med det første

Thomas Ruttig •

Afterposten, 16 June 2016 The Norwegian daily reports about a meeting, at Oslo Forum, that includes Taleban and what it calls “Afghan minorities” representatives. It quotes AAN’s Thomas Ruttig: Likevel er møtet på Losby Gods nyttig, mener den tyske analytikeren Thomas Ruttig, meddirektør i den uavhengige forskningsgruppen Afghanistan Analysts Network. – Dette er ikke samtaler, […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Hamstrung by Translation: How to analyse Afghanistan in an Afghan language?

Borhan Osman •

The most efficient languages to write about Afghan politics and society ought to be the two main languages of the country, Dari and Pashto. No foreign language can capture the various concepts native to Afghanistan as intricately as native speakers’ own languages do, for example in the case of Pashtunwali customs. However, the local languages […]

Context and Culture Read more

Zukunft für Afghanistan: Dialog mit den Taliban

Thomas Ruttig •

Tageszeitung, 13 June 2015 Op-ed (in German) by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig on the track II meetings organised by the non-governmental Pugwash Conference between Taleban members and politicians and civil society members from Kabul. He argues that the ‘Kabul side’ was much less prepared for the talks then the Taleban, result of the blockade of any […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Ohne Kupfer kein Frieden? Gespräche mit Taliban in Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

Tageszeitung (Berlin), 12 June 2015 An op-ed article by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig on the statement by Afghanistan’s new mining minister Daud Shah Saba that puts in question one of the most important economic projects of the country, the Chinese exploitation of a copper mine near Kabul – and might have negative repercussions on China’s role […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Bamyan, First Ever Cultural Capital of South Asia: A big party, but what else?

Qayoom Suroush •

Five months late and almost half-way through its crucial year, Bamyan has finally been inaugurated as the 2015 South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) cultural capital, the organisation’s first ever. Second Vice President Sarwar Danesh, Second Deputy Chief Executive Muhammad Mohaqeq and Minister of Information and Culture Bari Jahani were among the guests who […]

Context and Culture Read more
Shah Shuja holding a durbar (court) at Kabul, Afghanistan.

The Folly of Double Government: Lessons from the First Anglo-Afghan War for the 21st century

Noah Arjomand •

The latest AAN report, a discussion paper named “The Folly of Double Government: Lessons from the First Anglo-Afghan War for the 21st Century” by guest author, Noah Arjomand, revisits Britain’s attempt at state-building in Afghanistan from 1839-1841. The disastrous British retreat from Kabul in January 1842 and the subsequent British pillage of the Afghan capital […]

Special Reports Read more

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